I am working with double-width tartan, so I have two pieces, each two metres long. My tartan is 16oz Logan weathered tartan from Marton Mills. The pleat stripe I want to use is the red/black/yellow over-check. I am following MAC Newsome's instructions on laying out the design.

My question is this. I have calculated that I will need to have 9 pleats, and the width between pleat stripes is 7". My problem is that there are WAY more than 5 pleat stripes between the first pleat and the left edge of the fabric. If I use every-other stripe, I come up with 5 pleat-stripes. But that seems like way too much fabric between the pleats. Using one pleat per stripe seems right, but too many pleats. Am I doing this right??? Should I be thinking this through differently?